


Beginner Lessons

by ThePhenomenalStingray



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: Gen, He's got to have learned it from somewhere else, Horseback Riding, In Part III Marty has to get a horse up to a full gallop, and that's not something you can learn in a few days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29268465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePhenomenalStingray/pseuds/ThePhenomenalStingray
Summary: Doc introduces 13-year-old Marty to horseback riding on a visit to his ranch
Relationships: Emmett "Doc" Brown & Marty McFly
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Beginner Lessons

1981

While the fire might have burned down the mansion, leaving him to reside in the garage, there was still one more piece of land from Emmett’s inheritance that was still standing. He still had a quaint little horse ranch settled at the edge of a forest clearing with nothing but pine trees on one side, and nothing but open land on the other. It was up high in the hills, away from everything and everyone else. The ranch’s only residents were a beige quarter horse named Edison and an old Thoroughbred named Tesla. Emmett wouldn’t exactly call this place a secret, but no other person had stepped foot on this property for over 40 years. 

Of course, things change.

A cool breeze swept over the ranch, creating a ripple in the surrounding tall grass. When the wind stopped, a small flock of birds that were previously eating oats perched themselves on the stable’s roof and peered at the enclosure below. Emmett smiled at this, as though both he and the birds were watching Marty finish a shaky, not-quite-trot around the paddock. Glancing down at his watch, Emmett realized it was almost four in the afternoon and yelled at the thirteen-year-old to halt. The kid shifted how he sat in the saddle, pulled on the reins gently, and relaxed to bring Edison to stop, and waited for the man to join them inside the enclosure.

“What’s wrong, Doc?” Marty asked.

“Marty, we need to get going.” Emmett explained, going around to Edison’s left side and resting his right hand on the horse’s rein under its chin, “I told your parents that you’d be home by five, and it’s nearly four. It might only be a half hour drive back to Hill Valley, but traffic will back up soon. Please dismount from Mr. Ed-- from Edison.”

Marty’s nickname for the quarter horse was rubbing off on him. Emmett had named Edison after the light bulb’s improver, but Marty misinterpreted the name as a reference to the talking horse from television reruns. 

“Uh, how do I do that without falling on my face?” Marty said sheepishly, “I kinda forgot.”

“Take your right foot out of the stirrup first, swing it over-- good-- now you can take your left foot out, since your feet are on the same side.” Emmett smiled as the boy landed on both feet with a grunt of effort. 

After telling Marty to go clean himself and meet him at his car, he turned his attention back to clipping a lead rope onto Edison. With one last look into the grassy surroundings, he soaked in the last bit of scenery the rolling hills had to offer. From his vantage point, any sort of buildings that were in the valley below looked like mere specks. If developers hadn’t bulldozed patches of forest in the near distance, Emmett could almost pretend that no time had passed from his first visit until now. Quickly remembering the boy was waiting for him, he turned his attention back to the present and continued to tend to Edison.

Near Doc’s car, Marty was busy brushing the dirt off of his denim jacket, which he had acquired from falling off of Edison an embarrassingly high amount of times. No one in the movies tells you it's really easy to lose your balance on a moving horse. After trying to wipe the dirt off of his new sneakers in the grass with no avail, the Doc finally showed up in the small lot and ushered him into the car.

“So how’d you get this place, Doc?” Marty asked while putting on his seat belt, "I mean, a horse ranch isn't a really science-y thing."

"Well, the land used to belong to my parents, and I still maintained it over the years because I do have other interests besides engineering." Doc explained starting the car’s engine. 

"Oh yeah, they were loaded, right?"

"If you mean 'they were rich', then yes, Marty, considerably."

"So, did you learn how to ride a horse ‘cause it was a rich kid thing, or were there no cars?”

Doc paused briefly before responding. Several questions were forming in his mind as he was trying to infer just how much history Marty knew. He was going to have to give the kid a crash course on the 1930s one of these days, if he was willing to listen.

“Firstly, my parents supported my horseback riding lessons because it could be applied to social events such as fox hunting--which I never liked, or other ‘rich kid things’ as you like to call them. Secondly, when I was your age, a good percentage of eligible drivers in Hill Valley owned a car--which was already being produced in multitudes in factories for years--just how old do you think I am?” Emmett asked, not offended, but curious.

The boy just gave a vague “aah” sound and turned his eyes out the window and towards the pine forests that were slowly starting to thin out as they got closer to the rest of society. The dirt road that they were driving on had finally turned to much smoother pavement. Marty took this opportunity to lean his head against the window without giving himself a headache. 

“Thirdly--” Emmett continued, hoping he wasn’t boring his passenger, “--I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride because of my own interests.”

Marty turned his head and raised his eyebrows slightly, which Emmett had learned that it roughly translated to “go on”.

Doc sighed, almost unsure if he should continue, “When I was younger, I always wanted to be a cowboy.”

Marty smiled in delight with this new information, “Really?”

“Yes, Marty. I suppose I was drawn towards the independence, simplicity, and the openness of life on the frontier. Even today, galloping through the countryside is very refreshing from being in the lab. I’m very glad that I still have this.” Emmett said almost to himself.

“So am I, Doc.” Marty said, “Today was fun.”

Emmett perked up at this, “Would you be interested in learning how to properly ride? Tesla’s old and he’s not in good condition for anything intense, but I do have my eyes on another quarter horse from Elmdale. He’s a rejected racehorse--which doesn’t matter since we aren’t aiming to go fast as possible, but don’t worry, he’s in good health. If you’re going to be invested in learning, I’ll look into it further. There’s only so much I can teach on foot.”

“Am I going to be this sore everyday?” Marty asked, rubbing the shoulder that wasn’t covered by his seat belt.

“No, no, no. It only feels this bad because you’re not used to it. From my experience, Marty, you’ll be fine after two or three more rounds on a weekly basis. However--” Doc lifted a hand off of the wheel, “--horseback riding is something that you will have to practice habitually. If you take a few weeks off, the soreness comes back.” 

Considering, Marty nodded, “I’ll have to ask my parents, though I’m pretty sure they won’t care.” He sighed, “But yeah, I’m in.”


End file.
